Entering students with an extensive background in anthropology may be credited
(requirement waived with or without credit) for certain courses taken
elsewhere. However, applicants should be aware that previous graduate-level
coursework (including field school experience) will be rigorously evaluated for
transfer or waiver credit; the process is not automatic.
A course
submitted for waiver or transfer credit should closely resemble one offered in
our graduate curriculum or be complementary to that curriculum. Performance in
the course must meet the standards of the faculty in the chosen subfield. The
following are policy guidelines which will help you choose courses eligible for
waivers or transfer credits. (This applies to entering students with
undergraduate Anthropology majors, graduate work in Anthropology or those with
SMU courses in Anthropology). In all cases, students should provide complete
documentation (syllabi, bibliographies, assignments, tests, written work) for
the course they wish to have considered for transfers or waivers. New
students must apply for any course waivers no later than the end of their first
year of coursework.
General Guidelines: Maximum Hours, Minimum Grades, Appropriate Courses
The maximum number of credit hours that can be transferred/waived (electives,
required courses, and the field school) is 24. In unusual cases, additional
transfer credits may be granted with the approval of the Graduate Dean.
If you have been an Anthropology undergraduate major at SMU, any 5000 level
courses in Anthropology or any 4000-level courses with a 6000-level adjoining
number can be considered for waivers. Consideration of credit for undergraduate
courses taken elsewhere can be given only if you took them while you were a
graduate student. Requirements may be waived (without hour credit) for such
courses taken while you were an undergraduate. If we require that you take some
undergraduate courses to make up deficiencies before entering our graduate
program, these cannot be considered for hour credit.
Students can petition the faculty to have special studies or independent study
taken elsewhere considered for credit. Students should submit the bibliography
and the written product of this work as part of their petition. No waivers or
credits will be given for ANY course for which there is no supporting
documentation.
In general, only courses for which a student earned an A- or better (or its
equivalent) can be waived or transferred. In cases where letter grades are not
available (for example students with degrees from foreign universities), a
letter or statement from the Professor of record explaining the grade will be
required.
Elective Hours
Students entering the program with a complete Masters Degree can transfer up to
18 elective hours in Archaeology and up to 15 in Cultural Anthropology (the difference between the
two programs is based on differences in the proportion of elective to required
hours that already exist in the programs overall).
We will consider courses we do not offer for elective transfer credit if they
are graduate-level courses taken at other universities.
Required Courses
Required courses can be waived and credit hours given for them if they are
deemed equivalent to our required courses. If a required course is not waived,
the student can opt to have the course transferred for elective hours under the
conditions established above for a maximum number of transferable elective
hours.
Petition Process
At your earliest opportunity, you should notify the Director of Graduate Studies
that you want to petition for course waivers and/or transfer credits. He/she
will conduct the petition review on your behalf. In the case of
required/equivalent courses, the material is submitted to and approved by the Director
of Graduate Studies, the Department Chair, and the Instructor of Record for the particular
course for which the student is seeking waiver/credit. However, the general
faculty is notified of the petition and will have the materials available to
them. In the case of elective hours, a petition is circulated to relevant
members of the faculty--social/cultural anthropology or archaeology.
